‘Rome’ing

On day two in Rome we were up with the larks and out early to beat the queues at St Peter’s Basilica.

We had seen the queues loop all around the square outside the church the day before so we were eager to get there early to avoid the 3 hour line!

We had to wait 15 minutes and we were in! Perfect!

We headed straight for the top, literally. We traipsed up hundreds of steps to reach the small dome at the top of the basilica. The first stop up the stair case took us out at the top of the dome looking into the magnificent church.

It got us closer to the intricate designs on the ceiling. Then came the scary bit.

The next set of steps up to the look out point over Rome, were within a set of very small corridors or tunnels. Lets just say it got a bit claustrophobic in there.

But so worth it once you were looking out over the whole of Rome. After over coming the claustrophobia and the fear of heights, we decided to come back down into the main church. The Basilica is simply stunning and awe-inspiring. How it was built is beyond me. My pictures do the size of the building no justice what so ever! So I recommend a trip to see it for yourself!

Getting ready for the Pope’s arrival

When we emerged from the Basilica our stomachs were rumbling. Breakfast had been a while ago, so off we went for lunch.

Before we flew to Rome friends kept advising us to ‘stalk the locals’ when it came to finding somewhere to eat! So never one to pass up good advice, we did just that.

Sure enough they led us to a little bakery in the streets just off of the Vatican City called Feliziani.

We chose a pizza roll for lunch. And of course a hot chocolate. This just so happened to be my favourite hot chocolate in Rome (and I tried quite a few)!

The bakery had a quaint and classy feel, filled to the brim with traditional Italian delights.

If only we’d had a few more days to sample a few more things.After lunch, our afternoon was spent lazily roaming through the streets of Rome. Our early start and the bottle of wine from last night was catching up with us.

We strolled to take a peek at the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. But unfortunately the Trevi Fountain was having some renovation work done and was smothered in scaffolding. Disappointingly so, the church at the top of the Spanish Steps was also having a make over.

This was a shame, but only meant we would have to return one day to see them in all their glory!

Our stroll ended at the Piazza Navona, where we once again found our dinner for the evening.

This time we chose a restaurant overlooking the Piazza and two platefulls of traditional spaghetti and meatballs.

Such a simple dish, but so tasty.

We passed on dessert and opted for a wander around the Piazza. Something we hadn’t done the night before due to the rain.

The Piazza came to life at night.

People chatted, ate, drank and strolled hand in hand. We winded up outside the Pantheon once more which looked even more stunning at night. To finish off the evening we just so happened to stumble across a gelateria with 150 different flavours of ice cream, just up from the Pantheon. Della Palma gelateria uses old traditional recipes handed down over the generations. We did our best at trying as many as possible! We slowly sauntered back via the Basilica eating our ice creams. Stopping to snap the church lit up in the evening light. Still quite shocked that only that morning we’d been almost to the tip of the top!

If your planning a trip to Rome I’d recommend a visit to St Peter’s Basilica. It’s free to enter but there is a small charge to go up into the dome.

6 thoughts on “‘Rome’ing”

This has made me so excited for my travels to Rome! Queuing is my one things I’m not looking forward too, but I’m always petrified I’m getting in the wrong line if I pre-book. All part of the fun though!

Glad you’re excited! You’ll have a great time I’m sure! Don’t worry about the queues at the Vatican, if you pre book you won’t have to queue, just find an official near the entrance and they will show you where to go. We walked straight in with pre booked tickets 🙂 enjoy! Let me know if you liked the bakery and if you try the hot chocolate!! I’d ask you to bring one back for me if I could!

This looks like one visit you won’t forget for a while, what beautiful views from the top of the dome. Rome always seems to be full of hidden wonders as well as the well-known places like the Basilica and the Pantheon. Popping in from Magic Moments.